August 2009
t is a proven fact that Indian bikers are extremely fond of fairings. tank bags are out of the question and doesn’t have any bungee hooks, either.
04
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From ancient bullets to humble HH CD100s there has never been a The new fairing mounted mirrors have a huge wingspan of close to 3 feet
bike on which people haven’t tried to slap on a home made fairing. from one pointed edge to another and have a tendency to poke adjoining
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that for decades, the Indian riders (specially at traffic lights) in the wrong places, which can be a bit of
buyer was deprived of this simple piece of plastic and now they just can’t do an issue.
without one. Today, the fairing fetish has gone so far there is hardly any bike The engine is lifted straight out of the FZ. The bike pulls like a dream
left in the market which is available exclusively in a non-faired version! from low revs accompanied by a satisfying growl from the mid-ship exhaust.
Personally, I am not a big fan of fairings, firstly because at speeds that And the gearbox is as good as they come from the land of the rising sun.
our bikes are capable of, the fairing mostly serves only cosmetic purposes The gearing is super-short giving excellent pace off-the-line; ideal for all the
rather than aerodynamic ones. Secondly, even the smallest of the fairings traffic light GPs, however it does take its toll on the bike’s cruising abilities.
hamper visibility and compromise my pothole dodging capabilities. Thirdly, The engine feels laborious and runs out-of-breath past its midrange and
they increase the weight (6kgs in case of the Fazer) and also the girth of the doesn’t rev as freely as mills from any of its rivals be it Honda, Suzuki, TVS
bike requiring you to be extra cautious while parking into that tiny slot, or even Bajaj. The lack of tall fifth gear and a weak top-end mean that the
which was just vacated by a Splendor. But Yamaha has learned its lesson the Fazer isn’t really ‘ready for touring’. Whatever the promos may say, the bike
hard way. In India you have to give the buyer what he wants and not what remains a city slicker and the whole touring hoopla is just a different theme
you think is good for him. I am sure that by now every Yamaha showroom the advertising agencies were told to come up with.
in the country must be irritated out of their minds answering enquiries The Fazer has first-rate cycle-parts with those ridiculously fat tires,
from FZ and FZ-S owners whether the Fazer’s fairing can be bolted on to front and rear, suspended from equally fat front forks and a mono- 03
their bike. shock at the rear. Its handling capabilities far outweigh those of the
Looks are totally a personal thing, so for me the new fairing works engine. And it is this excessive over-engineering that makes the FZ line
wonders front-on but loses the plot when viewed side-on. That’s probably of models so likeable. I think that it bears an uncanny resemblance
because it has wavy, organic lines while the rest of the bike has a lithe of character to the sporty SUVs or SAVs like say a Porsche Cayenne
muscular look. The quality of the fairing job is top notch with no excessive a BMW X6. It has ultra-wide low profile tyres and a stiff suspension
flex in any of its panels and why not? Nothing less is expected of Yamaha. but, it won’t really break lap records at the track, just like an X6. It
Yamaha engineers have played around with the Fazer’s ergonomics making has enough grip and confidence to blast through potholes, gravel and
slight changes to the seating position and have succeeded in taking some of muck without worries, but the fat rubber hampers its feedback, which
the weight off the rider’s palms compared to the FZ; however, the problem is evident on stretches of smooth tarmac, just like an X6. One more
hasn’t been remedied completely hampering its much advertised touring thing that it shares with the SUVs is the fuel efficiency or the lack of
credentials. It has a plastic panels over the tank, which means that magnetic it, again, just like an X6!
01. The instrument binnacle is lifted straight off the FZ,
albeit without the garish orange stickers. The offset void left
in the place of the lock looks odd.
02. A neat floating panel wears the logos.
03. The fairing looks so R6 from head-on, nice.
04. Fitting it on your FZ will require some tedious
welding and changes to the electricals costing around 8
01 02
grand, provided you can persuade your dealer or a local
mechanic to do it for you.
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